Menu
- News
- Press Releases
- Thought Leadership
- Consolidation Corner
- 401k Consolidation
- Auto Enrollment
- Auto Portability
- Automatic Rollovers
- Cashout Leakage
- Cybersecurity
- DEI, ESG & Social Responsibility
- ERISA Advisory Council
- Lifetime Plan Participation
- Managed Portability
- Missing Participants
- Mandatory Distributions
- Mobile Workforce
- Plan Termination
- Portability Services Network
- Public Policy
- Retirement Income
- Retirement Plan Portability
- Retirement Research
- Roll-In
- Safe Harbor IRA
- Saver's Match
- Uncashed Checks
- Events
Auto Portability blog posts
New Research Confirms Clear Shift Towards Plan-to-Plan Portability
Video: Is Auto Portability the Next 401(k) ‘ESG’ Initiative?
The 401(k) cashout leakage crisis has significant, negative societal consequences -- impacting all Americans, but affecting minorities, women and lower-income segments the most. 401(k) plan sponsors, already familiar with Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) initiatives, could finally be waking up and taking action to solve the cashout leakage problem, within the framework of corporate social responsibility. Plan-to-plan portability -- specifically auto portability -- is the most promising solution, and could become the next 401(k) ESG initiative.
How Socially Responsible Corporations Will Solve the 401(k) Cashout Crisis
Writing in the Consolidation Corner blog, RCH's Tom Hawkins makes the case that socially conscious private-sector corporations will soon solve the nation's 401(k) cashout leakage crisis by fully-embracing plan-to-plan portability, including auto portability. Three key developments drive Hawkins' conclusions, including 1) a growing understanding of the problem and its societal impacts, 2) access to a viable solution and 3) clear acknowledgment of a responsibility to act for the benefit of society. Hawkins further notes that this view is being echoed in retirement research & public policy circles.
How Sponsors Can Help Minorities Save More for Retirement
In his latest byline in the Consolidation Corner blog, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams addresses the cashout leakage crisis, which disproportionately affects minorities, including African-Americans and Hispanics. Auto portability, says Williams, can make all the difference in solving the crisis, but requires that "sponsors themselves, as well as their recordkeepers, take the next step by implementing....auto portability" -- an action which he characterizes as being completely consistent with a recent public statement by the Business Roundtable, and endorsed by 181 CEOs of the nation's largest corporations.
Auto Portability 2019: The Year in Review
At the outset of a new decade, RCH EVP & Chief Sales Officer Neal Ringquist pauses to reflect upon the highlights of a momentous year for auto portability, addressing key 2019 developments in regulation, research & public policy, webinars and media coverage, as well as providing readers with his forward-looking predictions for 2020.
A Financial Wellness Program You Can Actually Measure
In his latest Consolidation Corner article, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams examines the current state of financial wellness programs, and the challenges plan sponsors face in quantifying their benefits. Facilitating retirement savings portability, writes Williams -- whether through auto portability for small balances or an assisted roll-in program for larger balances -- can overcome this challenge by offering sponsors a financial wellness initiative that preserves participants' retirement savings and is easily quantifiable.
The Surprising Migratory Patterns of Job-Changing Participants
In his latest Consolidation Corner article, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams utilizes EBRI data to examine the migratory patterns of job-changing participants. Looking specifically at the size of their former employers' plans (expressed in terms of numbers of participants) compared to the size of their most-recent active plan, Williams finds that the vast majority (82.98%) of these participants go to an employer with a plan equal in size, or larger than, their former employer’s plan. Only 17.02% of participants go to employers with smaller plans, and a mere 1.9% leave employers with large plans to go to an employer with a small plan (less than 100 participants). This data, says Williams, should significantly allay industry concerns that the adoption of auto portability for small balances could result in harmful participant outcomes.
Safe-Harbor IRAs are Supposed to be Temporary
Writing in RCH's Consolidation Corner blog, RCH President & CEO Spencer Williams observes that safe-harbor IRAs -- created by the EGTRRA-mandated automatic rollover process -- were never intended to be "permanent retirement savings vehicles." Too often, argues Williams, the relief plan sponsors realize from automatic rollovers comes at the expense of participant outcomes -- who experience high levels of cashouts, low investment returns and savings-depleting fees. With the advent of auto portability, participants will spend less time in a safe harbor IRA, and "plan sponsors no longer have to consider trading participant outcomes for administrative convenience."